Organising a film screening

Has anyone on urban ever organised a film screening? I've got a venue with a nice white wall and a decent PA all sorted, but I don't know where to start when it comes to licensing. Anyone on here got any experience and some pearls of wisdom? Looking to get a community film club set up.

It really depends on whether you want to screen shorts by local filmmakers, or established feature films. Then the next biggest consideration is whether you will be charging for entry. Then the next consideration is whether you feel you have to advertise the films.

As posted above, sites like Filmbank can license you films, but the terms are quite strict - in some cases you can't advertise the titles in advance.

You should also see if becoming a film society is the best way forward for you. Again this comes with it's own range of benefits / restrictions.

You might run up against your local council's Entertainment Licence rules as well.

If you're looking to do this for fun, it's totally doable. If you're looking to make money from it, it's virtually impossible (if you do it by the book).

Very sorry alsoknownas and Oula ! Scratched this thread off as didn't think anyone replied! A belated thank you.

We're going to host the screenings as part of a not-for-profit arts and social space of which we're all members. That way, we think we'll avoid any licensing issues, although admittedly we have to do more research on this. We'll be doing our own promo, and we'll also be charging for entry, but every penny will be put back into the cinema.

At the moment we're looking to buy a decent projector, so if either of you know anything about this I'd really appreciate any advice!

I used to run a film club in a community library, and they had an annual licence that allows us to screen anything from Filmbank, but we weren't allowed to advertise the film outside the library or charge for entry.

Hate to say it, but I think you'll definitely be a licence, particularly if people are paying.

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Page 99 of the 'Revised Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003' states...

Films: no licence is required for ‘not-for-profit’ film exhibition held in community premises between 08.00 and 23.00 on any day provided that the audience does not exceed 500 and the organiser (a) gets consent to the screening from a person who is responsible for the premises; and (b) ensures that each such screening abides by age classification ratings.

So I think we'll be OK. Sorting out licensing from distributors is another matter though!

I did a fair bit of research and that never came up! I'm still in a Facebook group for community cinemas, may have to ask them about it. Could really blow some doors open, as I used to be involved in free film festival too and that would significantly cut their costs.

I did a fair bit of research and that never came up! I'm still in a Facebook group for community cinemas, may have to ask them about it. Could really blow some doors open, as I used to be involved in free film festival too and that would significantly cut their costs.

Anyone on here know much about projectors? We're after a new one but don't know where to start!

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I’m on my fourth projector and I always started googling something like "best budget projectors 2018" and read reviews on the top home theatre and tech sites. I always ended up going for a Benq or an Optoma. What is the best projector for your budget and your needs changes all the time, so I’d do that.

Anyone on here know much about projectors? We're after a new one but don't know where to start!

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pesh may be able to help with specific suggestions, I can help with the questions you need to answer to decide - do you know anything of what specs you need? How big the screen is you'll be projecting on and how far away the projector is from the screen? Can the room be blacked out? Do you need 4K or HD resolution? Do you need the projector to be very quiet or will it be in a different room to the audience?
Have you considered hiring rather than buying?
Do you have a rough budget?

Budget is definitely the main question, as is how and where you plan on rigging / installing it, if you’re just going to bolt it to the ceiling then you don’t have to worry too about lens ratios / throw distances, you just install it where it needs to go to fill the screen, if you’re limited in where you can put it, back of the room for example you may need a projector that takes interchangeable lenses and a long throw lens to suit and that’s where it starts to get a lot more expensive.

Budget is definitely the main question, as is how and where you plan on rigging / installing it, if you’re just going to bolt it to the ceiling then you don’t have to worry too about lens ratios / throw distances, you just install it where it needs to go to fill the screen, if you’re limited in where you can put it, back of the room for example you may need a projector that takes interchangeable lenses and a long throw lens to suit and that’s where it starts to get a lot more expensive.

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I do film screenings with my projector and I never needed interchangeable lenses. All protectors have a variable throw range anyway. I just set up the projector where it’s a decent distance from the screen and for home I have a short throw projector but that’s because the wall I project on is less than 4 meters from my projector. It’s not like once the film is rolling you have to do adjustments, just make sure it can’t be knocked. As I use different venues I’ve got projectors which are smaillish and portable.

I’d go with a 1080p projector, decent ones can be had from £450 or so. 4K is what would make this expensive but the gain in quality doesn’t justify the extra expense at the moment. 4K media also is in short supply so far, while there is lots available on Blu-ray and HD downloads. I would not project anything less than 1080p HD, regular DVDs look shit when projected.

I always find sound is far more of an issue as I use different venues. Most projectors come with speakers but they aren’t sufficient for a public screening. In many venues the acoustics are poor to the point where dialogue is hard to follow. You’ll have think soundbars (not great for large venues which echo) or speakers (where you’ll usually need an amp). Sometimes the sound equipment available is analogue while a blu-ray player only has digital outputs, so you’ll need a widget to connect them.

Page 99 of the 'Revised Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003' states...

Films: no licence is required for ‘not-for-profit’ film exhibition held in community premises between 08.00 and 23.00 on any day provided that the audience does not exceed 500 and the organiser (a) gets consent to the screening from a person who is responsible for the premises; and (b) ensures that each such screening abides by age classification ratings.

So I think we'll be OK. Sorting out licensing from distributors is another matter though!

BenQ W1050 - BenQ W1050 -£399 is under your budget. It is 2,200 lumens bright with a 15,000:1 contrast ratio.Optoma HD143X (Black) & DS9092PWC - Optoma HD143X. at £519 it is over your budget but It is 3,000 lumens with a 23,000:1 contrast ratio which makes it significantly brighter than the BenQ projector. It is also queiter (25db compared to 33db)

They both have similar lenses but you really do need to check the throw distance/screen size works if you have a fixed place to put the projector. You will need around 1.5m of distance from the screen per meter width of the screen I think ( Pesh/Reno correct me if I'm wrong, ratios are 1.27-1.67 and 1.37-1.67 iirc so 1.27-1.67m of distance produces 1m of screen width right? I may have got these the wrong way round so 1m of distance gives you 1.27-1.67m of screen width).

Whether you need the extra brightness of the more expensive projector depends on how big the screen is and how dark the room is

The BenQ 1050 Richer Sounds have looks to be a better deal - at a glance the only difference looks to be the lens so if you don't need the short throw lens, I'm not sure what value this has over the cheaper model. It's also not much of a difference (1-1.5 compared to 1.25-1.67 there's quite a lot of overlap)

BenQ W1050 - BenQ W1050 -£399 is under your budget. It is 2,200 lumens bright with a 15,000:1 contrast ratio.Optoma HD143X (Black) & DS9092PWC - Optoma HD143X. at £519 it is over your budget but It is 3,000 lumens with a 23,000:1 contrast ratio which makes it significantly brighter than the BenQ projector. It is also queiter (25db compared to 33db)

They both have similar lenses but you really do need to check the throw distance/screen size works if you have a fixed place to put the projector. You will need around 1.5m of distance from the screen per meter width of the screen I think ( Pesh/Reno correct me if I'm wrong, ratios are 1.27-1.67 and 1.37-1.67 iirc so 1.27-1.67m of distance produces 1m of screen width right? I may have got these the wrong way round so 1m of distance gives you 1.27-1.67m of screen width).

Whether you need the extra brightness of the more expensive projector depends on how big the screen is and how dark the room is

If you have a fixed set up, then that’s something to consider. If you can’t find a model there, manufacturers have their own calculators on their websites.

In reality there isn’t that much difference between 2,200 and 3,000 lumens. I would always insist on a completely dark environment when it comes to film screenings. I’ve got blackout blinds (Ikea has got cheap ones) and black out fabric for the summer. As to whether to consider a short throw projector depends on the size of the venue. I’ve got one because the wall I project on is 3.50 from my projector. If you’ve got at least five meter distance between your projector and your screen/wall you should get a decent size image with a regular projector.

you really do need to check the throw distance/screen size works if you have a fixed place to put the projector. You will need around 1.5m of distance from the screen per meter width of the screen I think ( Pesh/Reno correct me if I'm wrong, ratios are 1.27-1.67 and 1.37-1.67 iirc so 1.27-1.67m of distance produces 1m of screen width right?

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yep, that one...

throw distance divided by lens ratio gives screen size, screen size times lens ratio gives throw distance, throw distance divided by screen size gives lens ratio.
so if you want a 3m screen and have a lens ratio of 1.27-1.67 you will need to have the projector between 3.81m to 5.01m back from the screen.

my only real advice is to have the projector above head height. racking bays are a cheap and easy solution if theres nothing there you can rig it from properly.

on paper i like the sound of the Optoma over the BenQ, but in my fairly limited experience with Optoma projectors they do tend to just pull numbers out of their arse so the BenQ could well end up out performing it, back in my dirty rave days I've seen a battered and abused 1800 lumen Mitsubishi outperform a pair of brand new 3000 lumen Optomas, but the Optomas came with a 3 year warrenty so when they broke we'd just send them back to be repaired, over and over again, much to Optomas disgust. swings and roundabouts.